Hurricane Heart
by Nanaki BH
Summary: [RenoxRufus] Rude finds Reno freezing atop the mountains of Icicle Inn and rushes him to Rufus' care.


Disclaimer: _Final Fantasy VII_ and all associated materials are property of Squaresoft.

Hurricane Heart  
By: Nanaki BH

Icicle Inn had turned into three degrees of hell overnight. Actually, it was more like three degrees _below zero_. Rufus sat in his hotel room for the better half of the day, typing away busily at his laptop in a last-ditch effort to complete some last-minute business. It wasn't how he intended to spend his day or how he preferred to spend it. He would have rather been out with Reno, enjoying the snowy atmosphere for once; something he'd never had the chance to do, especially not in Midgar. But it wasn't entirely his work's fault for being trapped inside. The weather had turned into something frightful; wind whipped angry flurries of snow through the area, swirling between the buildings, shaking them.

Weather didn't scare Rufus but it certainly had the power to intimidate him. And where was Reno when he was left holed up in his room? Out like always. Rufus wasn't the only person whose time was consumed with work. The Northern Continent had something going for it; space, space, and more space. If there was one thing Shinra wanted, it was cheap, free space to establish business. The area was relatively uncharted, though. They had to send _somebody_ out there to check it out. While Rufus spoke with the people of the town and raised the local acceptance, he figured it would be quick, easy, and painless to send his Turks into the frigid cold of the North to scout a fine place to plant a reactor.

It was a bad idea; a terrible idea, in fact. Something didn't feel quite right from the start. He knew that Reno and Rude would have no problem out in the snow when the two of them were like bears already. They could survive in just about any climate, weather, or situation. Rufus' Turks were built to last. But almost as soon as they'd left and he really got to looking out his window, something out there in the tornado-like, swirling clouds of snow told him something bad would happen.

"I just… need a drink, I guess. Those two will be fine," Rufus told himself, finally closing the lid of his laptop for the first time in hours. He stood, grabbed his wallet from the desk and made his way to the door, which, before he even reached it, was kicked open toward him by a very heavy boot. "Rude," Rufus groaned, at first simply annoyed by his intrusion and lack of consideration. He soon noticed the reason for his actions: the very cold, blue-tinted, shivering Reno he held in his arms.

"Good Lord," he gasped, his breath catching in his throat. "What happened to him? Get in here!" He ushered Rude in without any other thought on the matter, only concerned for Reno's well-being. Just when he was sure he was overreacting… He _knew_ that something terrible would happen. But why would Rude bring Reno back to _him_? He wasn't a doctor nor was he experienced with a person suffering from hypothermia. After all, he wasn't even experienced with snow itself.

Rude laid him down in front of the fireplace in the room, careful to keep him horizontal and flat on his back. He crouched over him and inspected him intensely, his lips pursed in concentration. "Do you think he'll be alright?" Rufus asked, nervously stepping forward to look at him. Just seeing him look so cold and in such pain made him feel… so lost. He felt helpless, unable to treat him.

Rude sighed, running a gloved palm over his bald head. "I don't know. The hospital here in town is incredibly small. The doctors there turned us away because of the sheer number of patients they were treating. I guess this weather has been hard on everybody."

"Did they know who you were?" he asked angrily, getting down beside him, putting a hand firmly down on his shoulder. Typically, even uttering the name "Shinra" could get you into the most heavily guarded of places. What was stopping them from getting into a little hospital in the middle of nowheresville then?

"They know who we are," Rude said, hanging his head. "And they don't care about us. They would rather treat their own citizens before us; people like us. The Shinra are only intruders to them. We're the outsiders and we don't belong here. Of course they're going to treat their own people before they take care of any of us. It doesn't matter how accommodating we are to them. It doesn't matter what we do, sir." Rude sucked in a breath, probably not used to having to talk so much. "You have to realize that… people don't like us."

Rufus' stomach did a back flip and he instantly felt nauseous. "So… what… what do we do about Reno?"

"You shut the fuck up and let me sleep. I'm fucking freezing here," Reno growled through partially clenched teeth. He glanced up at the two of them out of the corners of his eyes and closed them to continue "sleeping". A very pointed punch was delivered to his shoulder as a result. Rude wanted to throw in his own but he had to resist the urge. Soon after, though, Rufus felt guilty. All the while he'd been so worried. He realized he shouldn't be feeling angry at him but rather, glad that he was fine and well enough to make witty remarks.

"Rude," Rufus said around a sigh, "would you mind leaving the two of us for a while? Thank you for bringing him back." Rude gave a curt nod and, after pushing himself up by his knees, promptly exited, leaving the two in their requested peace.

Reno looked as cold as he said he was. _Fucking freezing_ probably couldn't even begin to describe the half of it. His skin was pale and his lips and eyelids were a light blue. Rufus grinned, though, noticing the snow still clinging to the spikes of his hair. He brushed them away tenderly, leaning forward to press a warm, gentle kiss to Reno's forehead.

"I'll bring you some warm sheets. Just a second," he promised and stood; legs weak from kneeling. He found his way to the closet and searched around inside of it until he found the extra bed sheets the inn provided their guests. He had to stand on his toes, embarrassed that he couldn't reach them at first without doing so. Reno was taller than he was and he knew he would have been able to reach them easily. He was glad he wasn't watching, otherwise he would have been laughing at him. Although, if he had, he wouldn't have gotten the blankets, would he have?

He returned after kicking the closet doors closed behind him. Reno tilted his head to the side and looked at him as he returned. The blankets were soon unfolded and, careful of the fireplace, were laid over Reno's shivering form. "Th-Thanks," he stuttered through tight, blue lips. "B-But you know what I could r-really use? B-Body heat." He grinned despite the cold in his bones, trying desperately to warm up their situation. Rufus couldn't help but to oblige, returning Reno's clever grin. He lied down beside him, joining him underneath the sheets, wrapping his arms around his middle.

Reno remained on his back and closed his eyes again, breathing calmly. "I'm sorry for worrying you like that," he apologized. Rufus would've told him otherwise but he stayed quiet. He wasn't concerned with an apology. He wanted more to hear how Reno had wound up… so cold. Unless Rude left him out of his sight, it seemed impossible for either of them to have fallen ill easily. A part of him didn't want to bother Reno while he was still recovering but he wanted to know so badly…

"Reno," he began quietly, carefully unzipping Reno's jacket with one hand, "what happened out there?"

He yawned and then smiled when he felt Rufus begin to unbutton his dress shirt. His warm, affectionate fingers on his exposed stomach were enough to send him to sleep but he forced himself first to give an answer. "I was behind Rude… for a good while, I think. I might have been attacked, I don't remember. I feel fine otherwise. Rude would have known if I was hurt, probably. I guess I just… fell." His eyes didn't want to stay open. They felt heavy and his body felt weak. Once Rufus had his snow saturated jacket and shirt off of him, the warmth of the fire had finally began to penetrate. Rufus, more concerned with Reno's comfort than attention, removed his pants as well.

"I'm just glad you're alright," he said, resuming his potion beside him, cuddling up close to provide him with more warmth.

"I think I'm finally starting to feel my toes again," Reno joked after a while, his eyes then firmly closed.

"Oh yeah?" Work could wait until later. He cupped Reno's cheek and brought their lips together, massaging Reno's until he left him breathless, his eyelids fluttering. The blue quality in his skin had left completely, being replaced by a slight, healthy pink. Reno looked dazed at best. Dazed, though, was not the perfect word at all when it got right down to it. He was exhausted. As much as he loved the adoration and affection Rufus lavished on him, he was far too tired to appreciate it. He wanted to, but…

Another much smaller, lighter kiss was pressed to Reno's cheek and Rufus slipped away a little to give Reno his space while he slipped away into his dreams. There was something so pleasing and contenting about being the lapdog of the most powerful man in the world; if only it were to know how gentle his hands could be when they were run through his hair.

"Rufus," he whispered; voice thick with exhaustion.

"Hmm?"

"You're just way too good for me."

"That so?"

Reno made no witty response. He'd already fallen asleep.

Author's Notes: Oddly, this felt more like one of my stories to me than most of the other stuff I've written. It was written for 30kisses on Livejournal; "#22 cradle". I hope you enjoyed it! Feedback's always appreciated!


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